Wednesday, 13 November 2013

P.S.A. - Beatles Bonanza! (November, 2013)

What an amazing couple
of weeks for ardent fans − like me − of the Fab Four! Three new and significant Beatles-related
items have been released this month in quick succession. I had them on
pre-order with Amazon for quite a while, and now, one at a time, they've
finally arrived − the final item was in my mail box this afternoon. I'm going
to be focusing on them individually, and then sharing my impressions with you
in future posts on this blog. It will take a while, though; two of these items
in particular treat their subjects in great depth and detail.

1) The first item is a
comprehensive biography of the band by Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn. Beatles'
fans will recognize the name. Mr. Lewisohn has written four previous books
about the band − the most significant was The Beatles: Recording Sessions
(1988), in which he provided complete details of every single recording
session The Beatles did at EMI's Abbey Road studios in London. This biography −
the first of a planned three-volume set − is called, rather awkwardly, The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1 - Tune In. It covers the history of the
band up to December, 1962. Of all the previous Beatles' biographies, the most
significant have been Hunter Davies's history, The Beatles: The Authorised
Biography (1968), and Shout! − The Beatles in Their Generation
(1981) by Philip Norman. But Mark Lewisohn's three-volume treatment will
probably become the definitive account − not only has he built on the work of
the past, he has spent many years doing new research and interviews with people
intimately involved with the group's family, friends and associates. If you
want detail, this is it! The first volume comes in at about 950 pages. And
there are two more to come!

2) Up next is The Beatles: The BBC Archives, 1962 to 1970 written and compiled by Kevin
Howlett. This is the second book that Mr. Howlett has put together about The
Beatles' work at the BBC. His first book, a modest paperback published by the
BBC in 1982, was called The Beatles at the Beeb: 1962-65. It was focused
on the group's radio career with the BBC. The new book (336 pages) is a lavish, hardcover treatment
of the band's radio and TV work for
the BBC. It is full of wonderful photographs and includes detailed information
about every single song The Beatles performed on BBC radio and television. The
book comes in a box, which also includes a small folder containing facsimiles
of archival BBC documents about The Beatles. The book features previously
unpublished interviews with the band done for various BBC radio and TV
programmes.

3) Finally, I have just
received The Beatles: On Air - Live at the BBC (Volume 2), a double-CD collection of songs and interview excerpts,
or between-song banter, done with the group by various BBC radio programme
hosts, like Lee Peters and Brian Matthew. It's a sequel to the 1994 double-CD set called Live at the BBC. The CDs contain 37 previously
unreleased performances and 23 spoken-word tracks broadcast between March 1962
and June 1965. Ten of the songs on this collection were never recorded by The
Beatles for EMI. A real bonus here are four candid interviews done by Brian Matthew
with the individual Beatles: John and George in November 1965, just before the
release of Rubber Soul; and Paul and
Ringo in May 1966, at the beginning of the Revolver
sessions.

So, it's going to be a
wonderful few weeks absorbing these three new releases. And if you have any
Beatles' fans on your list of people to buy Christmas gifts for, you might
start here − with one of these three excellent items. Meanwhile, stay tuned.
More blog reflections on these things later.

3 comments:

I bought "The Beatles:On Air-Live at the BBC Volume 2" to day at TESCOS. I must admit I didn't go out with the intention of buying it. I went out to get some milk, bread, a newspaper and some vegetables for tonight's. dinner,I'm cooking. There it was prominently placed in the CD rack near the apples and oranges. After reading your introduction above I could not not buy it. I'm looking forward to hearing it now and looking forward to your review, Clive. have a great day, Tony

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